Why Rhino's Have Horns
by xxallisonxx
Summary: Alas, another English assignment.  I do love that class.  Appropriately titled a masterpiece.  This is my interpretation of why rhino's have horns...


Allison Bobbitt

11/3/10

Period 1

'Nature Myths'

It was classic Autumn with sunshine and crisp wind. A day like this was quite common this year. The wild flowers were swaying in the breeze as the birds were chirping in glee at the comfortable weather.

"Aeolus must be in a favorable mood today," Gaia said wistfully as she surveyed the land around her.

She was in a perfectly serene mood ever since her role had been downsized and given to one of her sons, Zeus. He had showed the overall best leadership skills but still held an aptitude for cleverness. Of course her words hadn't gone unchallenged; all of her sons had wanted a fair shot at the prestigious role as ruler of the gods. As their mother, judge, and jury, she tested each of their numerous abilities in three inclusive categories: bravery, combat, and most importantly, cunning.

The rigorous battle had lasted into the night as her children fought at each other's throats. On a pedestal she had watched the gory scene. Of course no one had died, seeing as they were all immortal, but some weren't as immune to the numerous injuries as others. Poseidon used his trident to stab Apollo through the abdomen. Apollo's insides had spilled out in a pulpy mess, blood flecking Poseidon's trident as he continuously jabbed. Instead of bleeding out, Apollo healed himself, returning his insides to his body, leaving the trident embedded in his torso. With incredible strength, Apollo pulled the Trident from his middle, stabbing its owner in the side of the head. The recipient only laughed and turned to the next opponent. The biggest feud had been between Zeus and Hades, though. Everywhere you looked, the aftermath of their bloody fight was affecting others. With Zeus using his thunder-bults and Hades using his inner lethal touch, the war was huge. Zeus threw a thunder-bult, only to miss and hit Ares in the back. He crumpled to the ground as you heard an ear-shattering crack. He writhed in pain on the ground as the thunder-bult heated even more as it cracked twenty pieces of his vertebrae. He retaliated by sending a potshot spear in Zeus' general direction, hitting Hermes, who fell from his winged position soaring through the air and landing through his face. Warriors near by heard the spine-chilling _crack_ of cartilage in his nose as blood started pouring from in between his eyes. He kneeled over to retch, resulting in the deposit of bloody saliva all over the ground. Those flowers were never white again, but turned to red roses with thorns to prove their experience of the terrible. The only serious injury was of Hephaestus. His facial features had been so distorted and unrecognizable that not even Asclepius couldn't heal him completely so. She had spent hours attempting to repair his profile but to no avail. He was forever cursed with the repulsive features and a stumpy limp.

'_Serves him right for trying to hit Hades with his back turned_,' Gaia thought smugly to herself. Hades hadn't been very understanding as he showered a rain of shattered glass and rounded metal upon Hephaestus. '_And rightly so_.'

She gave a sigh and stood from the grassy spot of her hill. She stood and watched as the grass bended back into its place, rectifying its stance. She smiled at her creation and continued on her way. Her feet ascended into the glorious blue sky every step she took, passing through undulating clouds that were gusting their way through the open air. The temperature steadily dropped to the point of freezing when finally she saw the sparkling gates leading to Mount Olympus. The warm temperature returned as the gate gleamed like gold bars with is engravement of platinum from an albino siren's beak. Across the top of the sublime passage read '_Tellus Superum_'.

She swiped a majestic hand gracefully across the middle bars. There was a far away tinkling of bells, and the gate melted into what one would've taken as molten gold. She passed through, fixing her hair and satin-lined civvies as she went. She was on her way to the Olympian meeting, a meeting that only befalls every millennium, to discuss the latest crisis of the mortals and listen to update any laws that needed improvement.

The alabaster meeting building came into view as she stepped onto the safety of a passing cloud. The closer she moved towards the building, the more she could clearly hear the distinct sounds of an argument happening. The most recognizable voices were that of Zeus, Hera, Hades, and Artemis, though other voices were mixed into the background.

She climbed the steps and pulled open the door by its bronze handle and walking into the entrance with its wine-colored velvet drapes and luxurious, plush running carpets. She turned the corner into the foregathering hall to intervene.

As soon as she had walked into the room, heads followed her sudden entrance as she sat at the head of the table; the bickering had ceased at once.

"Now what has happened that has everyone riled up and hot-headed?" Gaia asked, trying her best to keep her composure and to keep the mockery from tinging her voice, "I walk in and find you fighting like ignorant mortal children."

Everyone turned their heads directly to Zeus, who promptly stood at attention, his blonde mane groomed to perfection.

"We have been asked by the Council to reconsider the Laws," he said, his head held arrogantly high. His cocksure expression almost immediately changed into a painful grimace as Gaia caught sight of what must've started the fight. There just slumping in a corner was a mortal woman. Her head was slumped against hear shoulder, eyes closed blindly, limbs drooped lifelessly.

"A mortal, a mortal on Mount Olympus!" Hera cried aloud, venom touching every one of her words, "Please tell me you knew nothing of this, Mother Gaia!"

"Of course not, but I assume this was Zeus' doing?" Gaia curiously inquired. Unlike Hera, who's voice was dripping with contempt, Gaia had managed to steady her's to a cool, clear monotone, something she had perfected in her younger years.

"Who else would've brought something as useless as a mortal woman up to the land of the gods?" Hades interrupted. Zeus instantly tensed his muscles and glared at Hades, who pointedly ignored his attempts at hatred. He'd had enough of that, working with the dead and all. Now it was just pathetic to see Zeus' antics sink this low.

"I'll give you that she's quite a sight," Aphrodite said, turning to look over the woman's appearance.

"But lacking in the upstairs," Athena added directly after. The two glared at each other with rage over their conflicting loyalties to their personalities- vanity and intelligence.

"That's all fine, but I'd like to inquire as to why she's actually here," Gaia said impatiently. This was not the time for petty arguments to burst out amongst them. They were gods, but they sure as Infernus weren't acting that way, all shouting to voice their story of justice.

She raised her hand to silence them from their outbursts. It worked.

"Hermes," she said, turning to her left, "as messenger, I trust you'll tell the utmost truth. Please..."

Honored, Hermes said, "Of course, Mother Gaia. It started when Zeus descended into Middle Earth, abode of the mortals. Zeus had been walking through the forest when he came upon a young lady," pointing to the slumped body in the corner. Before he could finish, Hera coldly said,

"We all know of Zeus' alternative affairs. There's no need to conceal the stony truth of it all."

"Yes, thank you, Hera," Hermes said, exasperated, but continued anyway, "He came upon a young lady. At the same time Zeus was watching her, Artemis was on her patrols of the mythical creatures. What was odd was the activity she was performing; she was straddling a unicorn, which is strictly against the Artemis Code."

"Even mortals know of this particular code," Artemis said angrily, "Their government set restrictions on the interactment of mortal and mythical beings. It disturbs the creature's growth process. They feel the need to attach themselves to that particular person, eventually killing them."

"Did the mortal know this?" Gaia asked interestedly.

"Does it matter?" Hera shrieked. She obviously wasn't in favor of the mortal for the obvious reason of Zeus' betrayal.

"Yes, it most certainly does!" Zeus roared angrily.

"Well of course you would think so," Hera spat furiously. The glares in the room intensified as the temperature dropped a degree or so. Their pulses were racing, blood whirling.

"I think that, under the circumstances, we should know the situation before conviction," Gaia said, once again capturing everyone's short attention spans. Their minds were still on the two head gods.

"Should we awaken her?" Aphrodite asked in excited anticipation.

"Absolutely not!" Hera shouted, jumping from her seat with a force so strong that the chair crashed into the wall behind her, shattering.

"It's risky," Hermes said.

"It's impossible," added Athena, "She would surely die up here. It's only fit for the gods and goddesses."

"It's pointless," Hades concluded, "She'll die eventually, so why not just kill her now if she's that much of a nuisance."

"It's decided then," Gaia said, standing, "We'll give it a try."

Hestia was sent to fetch the woman from the corner and awaken her. Once the woman had come back to consciousness, her eyes shot open in awe as she looked around the room. She was gasping for breath as she opened her mouth. Apollo took her arm and set her down in a seat, healing her with his touch. The bruises and scratches she had obtained from the journey upward had vanished as her lungs now adjusted. She was now normal, but still scared out of her wits.

"Where am I?" she asked, frightened to no end.

Hestia gave her a small, warm smile and said, "You're on Mount Olympus."

Her eyes grew even wider but before she could voice her shock, Hera said, "Yes, to discuss your punishment."

There was silence among the gods as they glared at Hera. It was enough for a mortal to just be on Mount Olympus, but to actually have a dire purpose there, it would surely make her heart burst from pressure.

"Punishment," the woman asked, her voice quavering.

"Yes," Hades said, "for the illegal interactment with mythical creatures. Not only is it blatantly against the Artemis Code, but now, due to your contact with it, the unicorn, bland as it is, will wither and die."

Artemis, willing to defend the dying creature's pride, explained the process of the unicorn's new life-ending cycle.

"Once it can't find you," she said, "it will just give up and go find some brush to hide in and starve itself. In its mind, it has nothing to live for anymore."

There were tears in the woman's eyes as she discovered this news.

"This is surprising for you to hear?" Gaia asked her.

The woman's head snapped up at her voice and said with emotion, "I assure you I never meant to injure it in any way. It was just so beautiful that I couldn't resist," she finished lamely.

"And because of your careless actions, one of my creatures will unnecessarily die!" Artemis contradicted.

The woman lost her nerve to speak and dropped her face to her hands and started to sob. There were awkward stares as the gods and goddesses turned away, some in disgust, some in pity.

"Miss," Hestia finally said, "miss, please stop your crying."

"My name is Rhiannon, daughter of Lanaes," the woman answered between sniffles. She wiped her face on the end of her cloth dress and lifted her head once again.

"Well, Rhiannon," Gaia said conclusively, "since you had no notice as to what you were doing, I very well won't punish you for that."

There were cries of rage brought about from Hera, Hades, and Artemis. As if to address their disdain, she added, "but this does not go without consequence. The animal that you have intoxicated with your presence is going to fade away, so to avoid any more deaths via communication, there shall be no more of the silver haired beauties."

It was quiet as everyone sunk in the thought. It wasn't such a terrible idea if you thought about it. If they weren't so beautiful, they wouldn't have been disturbed. Take away the beauty may turn it into a beast, but also leaves it in peace.

"I will leave your personal punishment up to Athena. As the goddess of wisdom, I believe she will give a just punishment," Gaia said, nodding to Athena. At once, Athena stood and mulled over her thoughts for a fraction of a second before saying, "You have killed an innocent creature. It is only fair that you shall take its place in the forest."

Without another word, Zeus reluctantly stood while Ares and Hades took either of Rhiannon's arms and stood her up as well.

Rhiannon struggled and kicked out in a vain attempt at freeing herself, but of course the gods were too strong for her. The rest of the gods and goddesses were left to watch as her long ebony hair, dark hazel eyes, and pale, baby soft skin morphed into grey, leathery flab. It was truly a shock for her beauty to have vanished so quickly, startling Aphrodite so much she almost had to close her eyes to close out the revulsion that was filling her sight.

Rhiannon tried to talk, but all that could be heard was a grunting sound that ground the ears of everyone around her.

"And now the beauty has become the beast," Gaia said glumly. It was an unfortunate loss to the mortals, this beautiful woman. The only evidence that unicorns had ever existed was a single horn upon the creature's head.

The meeting ended with Artemis naming the new animal the 'rhinoceros' after Rhiannon herself. She guided the new beast off of Mount Olympus and back into the forest.

It was later that night when Zeus and Hera had returned to their palace in the clouds that Hera asked, with a satisfied smirk on her face, "Who would you prefer now?"

Zeus turned to her, looked her straight in the face, and said, "Do you really want me to answer that?"

A/N:

Hopefully that makes up for my last essay! My favorite part was definitely the fight scene from the beginning with all of the blood, but that's just my personal opinion...

(PS: The sacrifice sheep in this story was quite demure, but it was indeed Steven the unicorn who was sacrificed. He just had to go, that silly mythical creature! Maybe if Hermes had fancied him, he would not have been given the death notice, but alas, the poor beast's fate was already decided. Ah well, maybe he'll make a miraculous return in my next story.)


End file.
